Well you seem to be acting that way, if you're obtusely refusing to believe what's right in front of you.
Why does Blake rise the exact same way Bruce did earlier, in the final shot of the trilogy, if he is not about to become the Dark Knight? It would a meaningless finale to the trilogy, and Nolan would be letting himself down. The ONLY reason JGL would possibly be the final person we see as an audience, is if he is about to take up the mantle and become the Dark Knight. Bruce was the star of the trilogy, why would it not end on him, as the person we are closest to?
Batman's legacy isn't a closed thing, everyone accepts him as the hero of the city after his sacrifice, but him coming back doesn't tarnish this legacy, it proves he is an invincible and incorruptible symbol of good, that no matter what happens, will always exist in times of need. If you don't get that, I think you need to rewatch Batman Begins and pay more attention.

Honestly, you make a lot of valid points. I think it could be interpreted both ways, and that's why I love the ending. It closes Bruce's story but lets our imaginations run with what will still come next.

I'll say this once more, you keep ignoring it so its probably pointless but..Nolan himself said this trilogy is the END of Bruce AND Batman's journey and story. Done.

Blake isn't like Bruce in this world, he isn't of the dark. He's ''light'', basically. He just doesn't like the shackles of the police force.

Im not suggesting there will be anymore Batman stories by Nolan. The point I'm making, is that Nolan's Batman, more than any other incarnation, is far more about him being a permanent symbol Gotham can rally behind. There would be no reason for so many of the characters to mention it so many times in the trilogy if the symbol died. Batman's story is over as far as Nolan telling it. But the way he told it it should be obvious that he always meant it to continue beyond what he shows us, that there will always be a Batman. Creating a new hero is just ridiculous, and out of keeping with the tone of Nolan's films.

In what way are Bruce and Blake different? Blake admitted he was just as angry as Bruce. They are the same type of person, both dedicated to good at all costs, Bruce is only darker because he suffered as part of his vocation. JGL would go through the same thing is his childhood friend and lifelong love was killed.
This light and dark business is utterly ridiculous, frankly.

Neither am I...he himself said he wasn't expanding the story and that it would have an end...and he wasn't talking about more films. Simply in universe.

Gotham shouldn't always need a Batman. Him saving the entire city redeems him and makes him into that legend. Blake being his own thing is more like a guiding hand in the new Gotham rather than what Batman's mission was.

You're taking quotes from Nolan now and adding your own spin to them. You really think he would give quotes like that before the release of the film? That would make him a troll, seeing as he's giving you part of the ending before you've seen the film. He meant he was sealing off his trilogy and story, not Batman in general.

Its ridiculous because as much as Nolan did his own thing, he totally respected the Batman mythos. Creating a new hero as an "out" to finish the trilogy is a slap in the face to Batman's history. There is absolutely no precedent for Batman quitting and someone else becoming Gothams new superhero, nor should there be.

A new journey begins? Are you kidding? I don't know if you just really have no interest in Batman or something, but saying Batman can be removed from Gotham and replaced by another hero, in any straight in carnation of the character, is like saying The Joker can be his sidekick, or Alfred can secretly be his father. Sure, believe it all you want. You'll just sound ridiculous.

Well, I don't know what to think after reading this thread. When I watched the movie yesterday I assumed that Batman died saving Gotham and I was shocked that Nolan had the audacity to do so. Seeing Bruce with Selina at the end threw me, but I figured that it was just a visual depiction of Alfred's fantasy - of seeing Bruce happy with a woman at the cafe.

Thinking Batman died seemed to make the film so much more powerful to me. I actually felt sad because of it, but it also seemed to validate the tagline of the movie - "The Legend Ends". Batman had become a legend by saving Gotham, and now his story was at an end. Perhaps Blake would become the new Batman, or Robin/Nightwing. But as it was, I viewed the film as depicting Bruce's heroic sacrifice to save Gotham.

Reading about this tracking device in the necklace, blah blah blah...people seem so confident in this theory that Bruce is still alive and bewildered that anybody could think otherwise. I don't know...maybe that's true. But honestly, to me that interpretation cheapens the ending. If Bruce put The Bat on autopilot, why did he stop being Batman in the first place? It seemed like he just escaped with Selina and stopped being Batman - but why? His whole characterization was being driven to do good in order to avenge the death of his parents. If Bruce survived at the end of the movie, he goes from a hero and a legend who nobly sacrificed his life to save Gotham (my interpretation) to someone who undoubtedly did something heroic and saved the city but then inexplicably left it all behind to focus on his own personal happiness (the "Bruce survived" interpretation).

Well, I don't know what to think after reading this thread. When I watched the movie yesterday I assumed that Batman died saving Gotham and I was shocked that Nolan had the audacity to do so. Seeing Bruce with Selina at the end threw me, but I figured that it was just a visual depiction of Alfred's fantasy - of seeing Bruce happy with a woman at the cafe.

Thinking Batman died seemed to make the film so much more powerful to me. I actually felt sad because of it, but it also seemed to validate the tagline of the movie - "The Legend Ends". Batman had become a legend by saving Gotham, and now his story was at an end. Perhaps Blake would become the new Batman, or Robin/Nightwing. But as it was, I viewed the film as depicting Bruce's heroic sacrifice to save Gotham.

Reading about this tracking device in the necklace, blah blah blah...people seem so confident in this theory that Bruce is still alive and bewildered that anybody could think otherwise. I don't know...maybe that's true. But honestly, to me that interpretation cheapens the ending. If Bruce put The Bat on autopilot, why did he stop being Batman in the first place? It seemed like he just escaped with Selina and stopped being Batman - but why? His whole characterization was being driven to do good in order to avenge the death of his parents. If Bruce survived at the end of the movie, he goes from a hero and a legend who nobly sacrificed his life to save Gotham (my interpretation) to someone who undoubtedly did something heroic and saved the city but then inexplicably left it all behind to focus on his own personal happiness (the "Bruce survived" interpretation).

I want to know... How did Lucius recover the "Bat" from ground zero of a Nuclear/Fusion bomb? Dont tell me that it survived? And there was never a mention of 2 of them either.

He built more than one, Bruce fixed the auto-pilot with the whole fleet. So the one at the end isn't the same one that exploded

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigEggo

I don't know if you just really have no interest in Batman or something, but saying Batman can be removed from Gotham and replaced by another hero, in any straight in carnation of the character, is like saying The Joker can be his sidekick, or Alfred can secretly be his father. Sure, believe it all you want. You'll just sound ridiculous.

What the **** are you talking about?

I'm saying Batman is over and now a new protector is in town. How does that mean I don't like Batman?

"After they killed me, I became something much, much worse. The stuff nightmares are made of. The children still feared me, and their fear gave me the power to invade their dreams, and that's when the fun REALLY began"